Los Angeles Times reporter Stephen Battaglio took a subtle shot at LeVar Burton on Twitter and in a rare moment, the beloved entertainer decided to fire back.
"Please. If offered, he would take it in a heartbeat," the journalist wrote on Friday without providing any additional context.
Battaglio appeared to be referring to the comments Burton made a day earlier when he sat down with Trevor Noah and expressed his thoughts about the recent Jeopardy! hosting saga.
"What I found out is that it wasn't the thing that I wanted after all," the actor said on The Daily Show. "What I wanted was to compete. I mean, I wanted the job, right, but then, when I didn't get it, it was, like, well, OK, what's next?"
Burton later saw Battaglio's tweet and responded.
"No Stephen, he wouldn't!" the Reading Rainbow host wrote in response to the journalist's comment about what he’d do if offered the position.
The actor proceeded to publicly shame the reporter.
Battaglio then tried to backtrack.
"OK! I believe you. I hope you land something very big, very soon. Sorry everybody," he wrote.
But Burton refused to let the reporter slide so easily.
"No, Stephen… you don’t get a pass. You made erroneous assumptions about me and made them public," he wrote. "Throughout this entire ordeal I have done my utmost best to take the high road in spite of the amount of vitriol and bile some folks have felt it necessary to post on my timeline."
Burton later shared screenshots of the exchanges capture by a Twitter user who noted you never know who’s seeing your tweets.
Burton added to her sentiment with , “Sometimes, we f**k around and find out.”
The two parties decided to end the dispute peacefully after Battaglio followed up with an apology.
Twitter users also used the opportunity to show more support for the TV icon. Some said they have stopped watching Jeopardy! because they are disappointed with the producers' decision to deny an opportunity to Burton.
As Blavity previously reported, Jeopardy! executives launched their effort to find a new host in February after the death of Alex Trebek. An avalanche of backlash followed after the producers selected Mike Richards, who is accused of mistreating female colleagues. Richards later announced his decision to step down as the new host.
